The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for forming a plurality of individual books in a predetermined sequence, and more specifically, to an apparatus which forms individual books in a predetermined sequence and which rejects and reorders a defective book and puts the reordered book into the sequence of books in the space the defective book was rejected from.
A known apparatus for forming a plurality of individual books in a predetermined sequence is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,098,076. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,098,076 a main conveyor with a plurality of spaced collating stations receives signatures. A plurality of feeders selectively feed signatures to the spaced collating stations to form the plurality of individual books in the predetermined sequence. A reject means rejects a defective book from the sequence of books leaving a space in the sequence of books. A reorder means causes the plurality of feeders to properly rebuild a rejected book upstream of the space where the book was rejected, such that the reordered book is out of sequence.
A first transfer means transfers the sequence of books from the main conveyor to an accumulator means. When the reordered book is conveyed to the first transfer means, the first transfer means is inhibited and does not transfer the reordered book to the accumulator means. The accumulator means conveys the sequence of books away from the main conveyor and back to the main conveyor to bypass a portion of the main conveyor on which the reordered book is conveyed. The accumulator means transfers the sequence of books back to the main conveyor system so that the reordered book is in the space in the sequence of books where the defective book was rejected from so that the books are in the predetermined sequence.